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Philip Seymour Hoffman, ever the critic’s darling, takes a hand at directing in Jack Goes Boating. Unsurprisingly, he seems to be doing what he does best: telling stories of people with simple, relatable problems. The film follows two couples navigating the pitfalls of modern relationships. Hoffman stars as Jack, who is introduced to Connie (Amy Ryan), by way of his friend Clyde (John Ortiz). Jack, a New York limo driver with dreads an affinity for reggae, cautiously approaches his potential new romantic relationship with Connie. His learning to swim seems to be a major component of the process. Complementing Jack and Connie are Clyde and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega), whose marriage is precariously close to falling apart. The film comes from writer Bob Glaudini, who adapted his play for the film’s screenplay.

The second episode of the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers webseries focuses on two friends, Justin Starr and Jimmy Angel, who sneak into an abandoned warehouse to explore. After some horseplay, they accidentally unlock the ability to defy gravity with astonishing dance moves. Justin and Jimmy develop these abilities at the warehouse over weeks and months until a confluence of events sends each of them down their own path.

Boston power-poppers New Collisions have been touring with ‘80s pop legends Blondie and the B-52s, quite appropriate given that the female-fronted band’s slightly punky brand of pop bears a clear debt to the guitar-driven end of the ‘80s new wave explosion. The band has been scoring some early praise with New York Magazine putting them in their top 10 of CMJ 2009 performances and features in Time Out New York, The Boston Globe, and URB.

New Collisions recorded their upcoming debut album, The Optimist, in a mere 10 days using a live setting to best capture the band’s energy. The album produced by Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie (the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Radiohead) will release in all formats on October 1. Today, we offer the exclusive online premiere of the group’s new single “Dying Alone” from the upcoming record.

This video is a clever compilation of tracks from classic cinema set to Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”. Pop was fresh out of rehab, in Paris, and being badgered by David Bowie to start making music when the tune was recorded. In many ways the song is classic Bowie but what always made it stand out was having Iggy Pop be the one to perform it. A song about being carried along by an awful drug addiction and finding faith that the world is still “made for you and me” has a much more impressive impact coming from Iggy. It’s also a refreshing angle on cinema, abandoning voyeur themes and affirming the classic sense that people “ride and ride” through a movie.

The song does make its winks and nods to film criticism as it goes. When Pop intones, “the stars made for us tonight” we cut to a couple making out on the beach in swimsuits. Clips are occasionally literal with lyrics, occasionally they match the rhythm of the song to a Hollywood dance routine, or matching the spirit of the scene to the line itself like the scene from Lawrence of Arabia where he is trying on his white garb for the first time appears with “Let’s take a ride and see what’s mine.”

The surprise show is one of the greatest things that can happen to a concert fan. And one of the reasons I love surprise concerts is because they catch fans completely off guard. Whether the surprise concert lasts for only one song or goes on for an entire set, fans always get lifted off their feet. So, let’s see how Lenny Kravitz, Robert Plant, Jimmy Buffet and Dr. Dre and Timbaland set their fans floating home on cloud nine.

Ask any concert fan and they’ll tell you nothing beats being surprised at a show when one of your favorite artists walks on stage unexpectedly. Because the moment is so intense and unbelievable, the surprise concert instantly becomes unique from any other concert that you’ve experienced before.

I don’t know if it’s just that time of year, but these last few weeks have been prime time for surprising concert fans all over the globe. So, here’s a list of artists who gave their fans a memorable moment of rock and awe.